A Comparison of the Zinc, Copper and Manganese Status of Very Low Birth Weight Pre-Term and Full-Term Infants during the First Twelve Months

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Abstract
During a longitudinal study, hair samples and dietary intake data were collected from 50 preterm (mean birthweight = 1054 .+-. 234 g, mean gestational age = 29 .+-. 2.5 wk) and 60 full-term infants (mean birthweight = 3509 .+-. 269 g, mean gestational age = 40 .+-. 1 wk) at 3, 6 and 12 mo. of age. Mean daily Zn, Cu and Mn intakes were calculated using 3-day dietary records and test-weight data for the breast-fed infants. Hair samples were analyzed for there elements by instrumental neutron activation analyses. The medium hair Zn concentration in the pre-term group at 6 mo. (81 .mu.g/g) was lower (P < 0.05) than that of the full-term group (144 .mu.g/g) and was associated with lower mean dietary Zn intakes at 3 and 6 mo. At 12 mo., the median hair Cu (12.5 .mu.g/g) and Mn (0.18 .mu.g/g) concentrations for the pre-term were lower (P < 0.05) than those of the full-term infants (Cu = 16.5 .mu.g/g; Mn = 0.25 .mu.g/g) and were also associated with low dietary Cu and Mn intakes.